


the myth of the fallen god

by stellatiate



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mythology, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-12
Updated: 2016-07-12
Packaged: 2018-07-23 12:54:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7464024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stellatiate/pseuds/stellatiate
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The mythos of how the Fire Nation came into power, all in the hands of the Gods.</p><p> </p><p>-—an interlude, companion to <i>talismans</i>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the myth of the fallen god

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [talismans](https://archiveofourown.org/works/870467) by [stellatiate](https://archiveofourown.org/users/stellatiate/pseuds/stellatiate). 



> this isn't a standalone story, it is a myth that i wanted to write for my story _talismans_. it was a little chunky in text and messed with the flow of the story, so i decided to detach it and post it here. not sure if it's clear in the chapter, but this is not the entirety of the story.

Long ago, before all were ruled by one, they were ruled by four. The Gods who ruled over the people were responsible for giving the gift of their elemental power to the people of their nation and the four of them were dedicated to maintaining harmony throughout all of the world.

However, after long, some of them began to grow restless. “I am the most powerful,” the Fire God insisted, “for my people do not wield, they _create_ their element.”

“But you cannot extinguish life the way my people can,” the Air God argued in return, “there can be no fire without the breath of oxygen around you.”

And so, their feud began. The others did not approve of the fighting between the Fire God and the Air God, but the two of them being increasingly stubborn only made it more difficult to resolve. Each day, the Fire God and the Air God would discuss the most powerful people of their elements in an attempt to discover which of them was truly the most powerful, but at the end of each day, their superior attitudes did not wane.

In a fit of exasperation, the Earth God intervened. “We all tire of this silly feud, so it will be solved in a fight between the two of you. We will all assume mortal forms and go about our lives, but the two of you are to battle until one of you is victorious—that way, none of your people will be harmed.”

Both the Air God and the Fire God agreed to the terms. Despite the trepidation of the Water God, an agreement was reached and all of them immersed themselves into the physical world. The Water God focused their earthly attentions to the wealth of the seas and the vast resources provided by the bountiful ocean. The Earth God found peace amongst nature, spending the time traveling across the landscape.

But the Fire God and the Air God could not resolve their feud, even in their humanity. The two of them met at a solar temple belonging to the Fire God to resume their battle with one another.

“I will not hold back,” the Air God announced haughtily, “so only the better of the two of us will be successful.”

The Fire God laughed in response, and their battle begun. For each brilliant move made by one, it was evenly matched and countered by the other. The battle between the two of them raged on; the first night did not see an end to the sparring, but a weakening of each of their skills once the sun set. Each sunrise resulted in a burst of power from each, leaving the solar temple scorched and destroyed in their path.

The two gods remained locked in combat for weeks, then months, then years. The battle between them threatened to toil on until both the Earth God and Water God converged upon the solar temple, witnessing the ferocity with which the two of them still fought.

“Enough of this,” the Water God exclaimed, upon seeing the destruction of the temple around the two of them, and conspired with the Earth God to create a token that would seal the two of them away, stripped of their powers completely. The idea of such a powerful token had not been mentioned for quite a long time, and had been the creation of the Fire God to seal away a very powerful spirit. It was an idea exclusive to the Fire God, so much that the tokens were in the shapes of little suns, disks used as keys between the spiritual and physical plane.

The Earth God and the Water God spent weeks crafting the perfect token, a small golden sun disk that would seal away the powers of both of the feuding gods. When they were proud enough of their creation and believed that it would work, they returned to the solar temple where the Fire God and the Air God were still fighting.

“We have solved this great dilemma,” the Earth God announced, and presented the disk to the two of them. The Air God failed to see how a golden disk would solve their feud, but the Fire God recognized the talisman for what it was.

Before the disk could be used for its purpose, the Fire God snatched it from the Earth God before anything could be done about it. Laughing, the Fire God wielded the talisman with experience.

“Using my own creations against me?” The Fire God was enraged at the idea, but held the disk out towards the Air God. A blinding light emerged from the center of the disk and before their eyes, the Air God was consumed and sealed within the disk. The Earth God and the Water God watched in horror as the disk transformed, locking itself into a smaller shape, with clicks and locks and snaps until it was small enough to hold in the palm of a hand.

The laughter of the Fire God felt like damnation to the other gods. They felt foolish for not thinking their plan through, and now the entire world would fall out of balance because of their missteps. The Air God was held in the captivity of the Fire God, and all that could mean for the world would be the disappearance of the elemental power of air amongst their people.

“I hope you have learned your lesson well,” The Fire God said to their fellows smugly, the talisman enclosed in their fist, “prepare yourself for an era of prosperity for my people, the most truly powerful of them all.”


End file.
